Development of composite membrane PBAT: Zeolite Y for application as rhynchophorol release system Paulo Romano Cruz Correia , 1 Ingrid Grac ¸a Ramos , 1 Ar ~ ao Cardoso Viana , 1 Artur Jos  e Santos Mascarenhas , 2 Ant ^ onio Euz  ebio Goulart Sant’ana , 3 Henrique Fonseca Goulart , 3 Janice Izabel Druzian 1 1 Laboratory of Applied Analysis, Biomaterials and Innovation, Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil 2 Laboratory of Catalysis and Materials, Institute of Chemistry, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil 3 Center of Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Macei o, Alagoas, Brazil Correspondence to: I. G. Ramos (E - mail: ingrid1000@hotmail.com) ABSTRACT: Composite membranes consisting of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and zeolite Y (0–10 wt %) were produced by extrusion. Zeolite Y is well dispersed in the membrane up to 5 wt %, but tends to agglomerate at higher contents. The presence of zeolite Y in the composite resulted in an improvement of the thermal stability, mechanical properties, and increased the bar- rier properties. The interaction of the composite membranes with rhynchophorol was investigated by different techniques, showing that the semiochemical progressively lixiviates PBAT monomers, causing thermal and mechanical properties to decrease. However, no interac- tion seemed to occur between the rhynchophorol and the zeolite. Studies of diffusion of pheromone through membranes have shown that the addition of the zeolite Y has not contributed significantly to a decrease in the release rate of rhynchophorol, but the presence of the zeolite Y helps to increase chemical, mechanical, and thermal stabilities of the membranes. V C 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 135, 45757. KEYWORDS: applications; biodegradable; drug delivery systems; extrusion; packaging Received 31 May 2017; accepted 31 August 2017 DOI: 10.1002/app.45757 INTRODUCTION The development of integrated pest management (IPM) strategy has been increasing since problems with pesticide use, such as resis- tance and environmental contamination, have become evident. The pheromones, chemical substances produced by some living beings used for communication between individuals of the same species, are embedded in IPM strategies. These substances do not present adverse effect to the organisms and do not generate risk of pests becoming resistant, as noticed with the insecticides. 1 Rhynchophorol [2-methyl-5(E)-heptene-4-ol] is the major con- stituent of aggregation pheromone of Rhynchophorus palmarum L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). This beetle attacks several species of palm and, is the main vector of Bursaphelenchus (Rhadinaphe- lenchus) cocophilus, a nematode that causes the red ring disease in coconut plants. 2 This pheromone has been commercialized as reservoir release systems, in two forms: (i) in Eppendorf-type polypropylene tubes with a 1 mm diameter hole in the cap, 3 in which the pheromone release rate is dependent of the container level and so present a nonlinear behavior, because the release rate decreases in function of time 4 ; (ii) in sachets, constituted by per- meable plastic membrane to the pheromone, 5 that usually has a constant release property, controlled by membrane composition and surface area. 6 Commonly, the sachet-type release systems are constituted by a polymeric membrane of polypropylene or polyethylene. How- ever, the use of these materials is associated to environmental impact, because they are hardly degraded biologically in file soil and generates toxic gases during incineration. 7 Thus, the poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), can be considered a polymer of great interest for application as rhynchophorol release polymeric membrane. This polymer is biodegradable and its processing conditions and mechanical properties allow replacing the conventional polymers successfully. 8–10 In addition, the conventional polymers have a very large evapo- ration surface, and it is often necessary to modulate the diffu- sion rate in order to attain the appropriate level of pheromone. 4 The effectiveness of pheromone use is also linked to its stability during the period of use. 11 In this context, the incorporation of V C 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. APPL. POLYM. SCI. 2017, DOI: 10.1002/APP.45757 45757 (1 of 12)